Closures for sealing containers



June 7, 1960 Filed April 1, 1959 E. GREENE CLOSURES FOR SEALINGCON'IlAINERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 9 INVENTOR. EDGEWORTI/ GREENL' 2,939,597CLOSURES FOR SEALING CONTAINERS Edgeworth Greene, 80 Kingwood Drive,

' Great Notch, NJ.

Filed Apr. 1, 1959, Ser. No. 803,467 v Claims. c1. 215-7 This inventionrelates to closures for sealing containers, such as bottles, and moreparticularlyto a type of closure intended to prevent tampering withthe-contents of the container, since the closure cannot be removed fromthe container without leaving an indication thereof, such as printedwords Has Been Open-Ed.then visible through the transparent top of thecap.

The closure shown and described herein includes a cap member adapted tobe threaded upon the neck of the bottle having the usual screw threadedtop finish, and gasket means within the cap for contacting the top ofthe neck which also constitutes a locking member and through which forceis applied to compress it against .the end of the neck and effect atightseal when the cap is rotated to screw it in place.

The cap and locking member are formed with oooperating parts, whichcause the cap and member to move.

in unison during .theapplication of the closure to the container, butwhen an attempt is made to unscrew the cap thecooperatingparts moverelatively into a position in ,whichthe cap has been advanced.one-eighth of aturn while the locking member remains stationary. 111-.

lows the previously hidden printed indication to become visible. h

- f Y The cooperating parts areso'constructed thatjtlielcap and-themember are now. locked together agaihs't}any I further relative'movement in either} directionJinwhich v the cap may be .rotateds'on thecontainer. The construe- .L'tion of .thelocking member is such that. itis extremely "dilficlilttbtboth remove. it from the cap and repositionit, since.itisinitiallyforced into placejbeyond a retainingled'ge'adjacent the crownof the cap.

' th 'theaccompanying" setting'up of the removal indica- *tion it' canbe applied again to reseal the-contents withpreviously removed. i

Fora better understanding of the invention;:reference -may be had to theaccompanying drawings; in which: 2*: Figl-"l" is a top-plan view ,:of"the closure with the parts xinnorrnal position for originalapplicationtoa container.

essairythebottom surface of the member could'ibe ated with apressur'epensitive adhesivefor this purpose;

' out changing the indication that it has already been lnorder for theaforesaid relative movementiof the lthebotfle, top butremainstationaryduring theljinitial g-QEig. 2 is a similar view of the closure after ithas been @removed from acontainer and with the parts in'aipositionindicatingsuch removal... 1 f Fig.3 is acentral verticalsecti0nal, view on the line offFig. 1. i

Fig. 5 is afragmentaryibottom plan view "of the cap member of theclosure. I

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatie vi w showing a'straight line Fig. 4 is a topplan .view jof the cornbinedilockingmem het" and gasket means: v i Vdevelopment of the 'ies'pectiv'e cooperating parts of the- 2,939,597Patented June 7, 1960 cap and locking member in their normal relativepositions, and i Fig. 7 is a similar view but with the cooperating partsin a position indicating that the closure has been removed from thecontainer and showing how'they are locked against movement in eitherdirection.

Referring to the drawings there is of closure embodying the inventionadapted to be applied to the neck 10 of a bottle which is provided witha conventional thread 11. The closure comprises a cap member 12internally threaded at 13 for engagement with the bottle thread 11. Ithas a fiat crown 15 from the under surface of which depend a pluralityof projections arranged in a circular series, including diametricallyopposite ratchet teeth 16 having a vertical front wall 18 which leads asthe closure is rotated to screw it on the bottle neck, and an inclinedsurface 19 which is formed to extend upwardly and rearwardly from theleading end of the teeth 16, and is curved in cross section.

Also included in the circular series are projections 20 likewisearranged diametrically opposite each other, and being positionedrespectively immediately back of each one of the teeth 16. They arerectangular and formed with a front vertical wall 21 and a rear verticalwall 22. In'the' closure shown in the drawings the cap 12 has a pair ofteeth 16 and a pair of rectangular projections 20, and is rotatedclockwise, as viewed from the top, to thread it upon the bottle neck. pThe cap is preferably made of plasticmaterial', such as transparentpolyethylene the purpose of whichwill presently be explained.

" A combined inner locking member and gasket 30itis positioned in" thecap member between the crown 1-5 and a ledge 31- formed around the innersurfaceof the threaded skirt of the cap. Member, 30 may be madeofflexible material, preferably of polyethylene, and is formed with arelatively thin peripheralgflange 32 the overall diameter of which is;greater than the inside diameter of the ledge 31, and much greater'thanthe inner dialme being elastic will yield and allowmember 30 to' snapinto place. The-construction is such as to render removalof member 30extremely difiicult without destruction oftlie associated parts. I

Member 30 is. also .molded with a pluralityof projections extendingupwardly therefrom and arranged in a circular series. They are adaptedto cooperate with the projections of cap member 12, and comprise a pairof diametrically opposite ratchet teeth 35 having'a rear wall 56 whichtrails as the closure'is rotated to screwit on the bottleneck, andan'inclined surface 37 which extends downwardly and forwardly from thetrailing end. Surface 37 of teeth'35 is normally in contact with theinclined surface 19 of teeth 16, as shown in Fig. Included'in thecircular series of member 30 are "other projections 40 also arrangeddiametrically'opposite each other, and being positioned respectivelyimmediatelyforward of teeth 35. They are rectangular in section, as

. shown in, Figs.v 6 and 7, and are formed with a front wall 41 and arear wall 42, the latter being normally in contact with the front Wall1801? the teeth 16.

For thepurpose of easy assembly in vertical alignment, the circularseries of projections of member 30 areformed within an annular groove 50in the top surface of the member, and within which groove the circularseries of projections of the cap 12 extend, see Figs. 3,

its top surface has been opened the latter word being shown one form 7Thus, when member; 30 p is e case may be, will be hidden beneathsuitable embossing,

indicated at 55, and which may be molded on the under surface of thecrown is of cap 12. Each embossed area is large enough for this purpose,the spaces 56 between remaining naturally transparent, and also beingsufficient in area to serve as windows throughwh'ich the lettering orother suitable indici'a willbe plainly'visible when the respectiveseries of projections of the cap and member are in the relativepositions shown i Figs. '7 and 2.

Member '30 has {an annularbe'ad 57 formed on its upper surface betweenthe lettering and the 'fia'nge 32. The

head has a'rounded top surface contacting the flat under lsrn'faee ofthe crown 15. When the cap is screwed down tightly force is applied tothe head 57 which causes'the has lower surface of member 30 to becompressed against the bottle top and effect a tight seal. Because oftheline contact of the parts, best shown in Fig. 3, frictional force'stherebetwcen will be minimized.

The operation of the closure is as follows. Assuming the cap 12 andmember 3e are in the relative position shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4, '5 and 6,with the cap tightly applied to the bottle neck 10, uponcounter-rotation of cap 12 member 30 will remain stationary because ofits much greater contacting areapressing against the top of "the bottleneck, and the relatively small area engaging along theline contact ofhead 57. Since the contacting surfaces 19 and 37 are relatively shortand also are rounded in cross section with a short and long radiusrespectively, they likewise engage along a line and any frictiongenerated between them will be negligible.

Therefore, ratchet teeth 16 will ride up ratchet teeth 33 pressingdownwardly on member 30 so that its adhe- "sion to the bottle top willbe' maintained, member 30 yielding somewhat until the teeth move farenough .relatively to jump each other, and reach the position shown inFig. 7. When this occurs the vertical walls 22 and 41 of projections and40 will be brought into confronting relationship as well as the verticalwalls 18 and 36 of ratchet teeth 16 and 35, thus locking these two partsof fthe closure against further relative movement in either direction.

The closure will now be loosened on the bottle top ,andmay be easilyunscrewed along the bottle threads, "the printedwords on member '30being now in afixed position under the windows 56, asshown in Fig. 2,indicating that the closure has been opened. It may be applied again toreseal the bottle but without changing the .position of the letteredindication.

If desirable, a separate gasket or liner could be in- V cluded in theassembly shown in Fig. 3 having a suitable plastic-coated paper face,such' as saran, adapted to resist slippage-on the end of a glasscontainer. In this instance the under surface of the locking memberwould be formed with an annular row of ratchet teeth such as shown inPatent'No. 2,560,793, issued to me July 17, 1951, and

"for the same purpose.

'I'claim: p I

1. A closure for sealing the opening through the end of a containenhaving an outer cap member for rotary application to the end of thecontainer, and a resilient "lockin'ginember within the cap, the lockingmember and the cap having surfaces, substantially aligned with the "endsealing surface of the container, and being formed t'o "engage with aline contact, and said members having "of said-ratchet teeth which, upon.rotation of the cap engage positively to cause the locking member torotate with the 'cap to force the locking member towards the end of thecontainer and apply pressure thereto, said ratchet teeth having normallyopposed surfaces inclined in such direction and at such an angle that,upon counterrotation of the cap said inclined surfaces slide relative toone another urging the locking member away from the cap to cause saidratchet teeth to jump each other with their vertical faces opposed, and,said cooperating parts having other vertical surfaces normally spacedapart in a rotary direction adapted to engage following the jumping ofthe'ratchet teeth, and ,so that the cap and the locking member willthereby be prevented from moving relatively in either direction ofrotation for the pur pose set forth.

2. A closure for sealing the opening through the end of a container,having an outer cap member for rotary application to the end of thecontainer, and a resilient locking member within the cap constituting 'agasket engageable with said container end to close the opening and beingcapable of resisting slippage thereon when under pressure, the lockingmember having its upper face formed with a convex bead adjacent itsouter edge adapted'to contact the fiat under surface of 'the crown ofthe cap, the locking member and the cap having cooperatin'g parts whichinclude ratchet teeth having vertical faces, and said parts having othervertical surfaces normally in opposed relation to the vertical faces ofsaid teeth which, upon rotation of the cap engage positively to causethe locking member to rotate with the cap to force the locking memberagainst the end of the container teeth, and so that the cap and thelocking member will thereby be prevented from moving relatively ineither "direction of rotation for the purpose set forth.

,3. The structure according to claim 1 in which the J side wall of thecap isformed with an internal ledge adjacent its crown, and the lockingmember has a relative'ly thinflexible flange around its outer edgegreater in diameter than the inside diameter of said ledge.

4. The structure accordingjto claim 1 in which-the upper surface of thelocking member is relatively close to the inside top surface of the capand is marked'with indicia, and the crown of the cap has at least onetransparent zone and one non-transparent zone, both being inrotaryalignment with each other and with said'indicia, the latter beingnormally hidden beneath said non-transparent'zone, and said zones beingso spaced and positioned that, following the initial relative movementof the flocking member and cap, the said .indicia will be exposed'toview beneath the transparent zone of the cap to thereby indicate thatthe closure has been unscrewed to open the container.

5. A closure for sealing the opening througdthecnd of a container,comprising *an' outer cap member for rotary applicationto theend-of thecontainer, and a lock- :ing member-within the cap adapted to "close'saidopening,

saidmembers having cooperating parts adapted to cause said members tomove in unison during theapplication of the closure to'the container,and upon counter-rotation of said closure to cause said members tomove'relative to one another a predetermined distance into locked rela.tionship with respectto rotary movement relatively "in either directionfor the purpose-set forth.

No references cited.

